Page 2 Whitney, Britney and Shania lead nominees for 27th annual awards Focus A ®tfe ÿlprilauh ©bee ruer December 15,1999 S U P P L E M E N T O F AssQClAIUbKRtSS W ^orthxnì» (©beerbet Editor in Chief, Publisher Charles H. W ashington Editor Larry J. Jackson, Sr. Copy Editor Joy Ramos Director o f Advertising Tony Washington Business Manager Gary Ann Taylor Creative Director Shawn Strahan 4747 NE Martin Luther King, Jr., Blvd. Portland, OR 97211 503-288-0033 Fax 503-288-0015 Whitney Houston, Britney Spears and Shania Twain led American Music Award nominations last week with three apiece, while rapper Jay- Z got a nod only four days after his arrest forallegedly stabbing a record executive. Actor Norm Macdonald, actress Carmen Electra and producer Dick Clark announced nominees for the 27th annual awards. The three-hour show will be broadcast on ABC- TV from the Shrine Auditorium in The nominees: POP/ROCK MALE ARTIST: Lenny Kravitz, Ricky Martin, Will Smith. FE M A L E A R T IST : W h itn ey Houston, Britney Spears, Shania Twain. B A N D , DUO OR G R O U P: Backstreet Boys, ‘N Sync, Santana. ALBUM : “ M ille n n iu m ,” Backstreet Boys; "... Baby One M ore T im e,” B ritney Spears; “Supernatural,” Santana. NEW ARTIST: Kid Rock, Jennifer Lopez, Britney Spears. SOUL/RHYTHM & BLUES MALE ARTIST: Busta Rhymes, Ginuwine, R. Kelly. Los Angeles on Jan. 17. The D ixie Chicks, Lauryn Hill, Jennifer Lopez and the all-female group TLC had two nominations each. A lso g e ttin g m u ltip le nominations were the Backstreet Boys, Garth Brooks, Kid Rock, Ricky Martin, Santana and George Strait. Jay-Z, whose real name is Shawn Carter, was nominated for best rap or hip hop artist along with DMX and Juvenile. The Grammy-winning rapper has been charged w ith assault for FE M A L E A R T IS T : B randy, Lauryn Hill, W hitney Houston. BAND, DUO OR GROUP: Dru Hill, K-Ci & JoJo, TLC. ALBUM: “The M iseducation of Lauryn Hill,” la u ry n Hill; “My Love Is Your Love,” Whitney Houston; FanMail,” TLC. NEW ARTIST: Eve,702,Tyrese. COUNTRY MALE ARTIST: Garth Brooks, Tim McGraw, George Strait. FEMALE ARTIST: Faith Hill, Martina McBride, Shania Twain. B A N D , D U O O R G R O U P: Brooks & Dunn, Diamond Rio, Dixie Chicks. ALBUM: “Double Live,” Garth Brooks; “Fly,” D ixie Chicks; a lle g e d ly sta b b in g a re c o rd executive in a New York nightclub brawl on Wednesday. He also is accused o f bashing two people in the head with bottles in earlier incidents. His attorney has denied Jay-Z attacked anybody. W in n e rs o f A m erican M usic Awards are selected by a national sampling o f approximately 20,000 listeners. Names on the ballots are com piled from m usic industry publications and results are kept secret until envelopes are opened during the ceremony. “ A lw ays N e v e r the S am e,” George Strait. NEW A RTIST: Sara Evans, Montgomery Gentry, SheDaisy. ADULT CONTEMPORARY ARTIST: C her, Phil Collins, Shania Twain. LATIN MUSIC A R T IS T : E n riq u e Ig le sia s, Jennifer Lopez, Ricky Martin. R A PH IP HOP ARTIST: DMX, Jay-Z, Juvenile. ALTERNATIVE MUSIC ARTIST: Kid Rock, Limp Bizkit, Red Hot Chili Peppers. SOUNDTRACK “Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me,” “Runaway Bride," “Wild West.” At millennium's end, it’s the Pokemon who stole Christmas A ssociated P ress Likejust about every other 10-year- old in Japan, Yasuyo N akatani’s son is addicted to Pikachu. For an hour or two each day, the Pokemon character has him under its spell. So w hat’s a mother at the epicenter o f the Pokemon empire to do? T hat’s easy _ stock up before Christmas. “If he plays too much, his eyes hurt and he doesn’t study,” Nakatani said, her arms loaded with presents from Tokyo’s Pokemon Center. “But if he leaves home without his Pokem on G am e B oy, he gets bored.” Since its debut in 1996 as a software game by NintendoCo., the Pokemon phenomenon has swollen into a $7 billion multimedia juggernaut that spans everything from television shows to trading cards, and is spreading across the globe. For Japanese, Pokemon’s success has become a source o f national pride. “Pokemon is the place to be,” said Lisa Spicer, an analyst at W est LB S e c u ritie s P a c ific , L td. “ I t ’s (Please see ‘P okem on’ page 2) e-mail: news@ portlandobserver.com Articles: Friday by 5 p . m . Ads: Monday by Noon Focus welcomes freelance submissions. Manuscripts and photographs can be returned if accompanied by a self- addressed stamped envelope. All created display ads become the sole property of the newspaper and cannot be used in other publications or personal usage without the written consent of the general manager, unless the client has purchased the composition of the ad. r Serving Breakfast Seven lays a Week - Starting at 7:00am McMenamins Kennedy School 5736 NE 53rd ♦ Portland, Oregon • (503) 249-3983 w w w .m tm rn a m in s .c o m I*** TW Pwtlawl OkMrvtr V